Unraveling Somalia

Unraveling Somalia PDF Author: Catherine Besteman
Publisher: University of Pennsylvania Press
ISBN: 081229016X
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 297

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Book Description
In 1991 the Somali state collapsed. Once heralded as the only true nation-state in Africa, the Somalia of the 1990s suffered brutal internecine warfare. At the same time a politically created famine caused the deaths of a half a million people and the flight of a million refugees. During the civil war, scholarly and popular analyses explained Somalia's disintegration as the result of ancestral hatreds played out in warfare between various clans and subclans. In Unraveling Somalia, Catherine Besteman challenges this view and argues that the actual pattern of violence—inflicted disproportionately on rural southerners—contradicts the prevailing model of ethnic homogeneity and clan opposition. She contends that the dissolution of the Somali nation-state can be understood only by recognizing that over the past century and a half there emerged in Somalia a social order based on principles other than simple clan organization—a social order deeply stratified on the basis of race, status, class, region, and language.

Clan Cleansing in Somalia

Clan Cleansing in Somalia PDF Author: Lidwien Kapteijns
Publisher: University of Pennsylvania Press
ISBN: 0812207580
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 320

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Book Description
In 1991, certain political and military leaders in Somalia, wishing to gain exclusive control over the state, mobilized their followers to use terror—wounding, raping, and killing—to expel a vast number of Somalis from the capital city of Mogadishu and south-central and southern Somalia. Manipulating clan sentiment, they succeeded in turning ordinary civilians against neighbors, friends, and coworkers. Although this episode of organized communal violence is common knowledge among Somalis, its real nature has not been publicly acknowledged and has been ignored, concealed, or misrepresented in scholarly works and political memoirs—until now. Marshaling a vast amount of source material, including Somali poetry and survivor accounts, Clan Cleansing in Somalia analyzes this campaign of clan cleansing against the historical background of a violent and divisive military dictatorship, in the contemporary context of regime collapse, and in relationship to the rampant militia warfare that followed in its wake. Clan Cleansing in Somalia also reflects on the relationship between history, truth, and postconflict reconstruction in Somalia. Documenting the organization and intent behind the campaign of clan cleansing, Lidwien Kapteijns traces the emergence of the hate narratives and code words that came to serve as rationales and triggers for the violence. However, it was not clans that killed, she insists, but people who killed in the name of clan. Kapteijns argues that the mutual forgiveness for which politicians often so lightly call is not a feasible proposition as long as the violent acts for which Somalis should forgive each other remain suppressed and undiscussed. Clan Cleansing in Somalia establishes that public acknowledgment of the ruinous turn to communal violence is indispensable to social and moral repair, and can provide a gateway for the critical memory work required from Somalis on all sides of this multifaceted conflict.

“My Clan Against the World”: U.S. and Coalition Forces in Somalia 1992-1994

“My Clan Against the World”: U.S. and Coalition Forces in Somalia 1992-1994 PDF Author:
Publisher: DIANE Publishing
ISBN: 1437923089
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 234

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Book Description
This study examines the American military's experience with urban operations in Somalia, particularly in the capital city of Mogadishu. That original focus can be found in the following pages, but the authors address other, broader issues as well, to include planning for a multinational intervention; workable and unworkable command and control arrangements; the advantages and problems inherent in coalition operations; the need for cultural awareness in a clan-based society whose status as a nation-state is problematic; the continuous adjustments required by a dynamic, often unpredictable situation; the political dimension of military activities at the operational and tactical levels; and the ability to match military power and capabilities to the mission at hand.

Piracy in Somalia

Piracy in Somalia PDF Author: Awet Tewelde Weldemichael
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1108496962
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 259

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Book Description
Following six years of extensive fieldwork, Weldemichael examines the international causes, internal dynamics, and domestic consequences of piracy in Somalia.

The United States Army in Somalia, 1992-1994

The United States Army in Somalia, 1992-1994 PDF Author: Richard Winship Stewart
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Military assistance, American
Languages : en
Pages : 28

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Book Description


No Redress: Somalia’s Forgotten Minorities

No Redress: Somalia’s Forgotten Minorities PDF Author: Martin J. D. Hill
Publisher: Minority Rights Group
ISBN: 1907919007
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 48

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Book Description
This report documents the neglected situation of Somalia’s minorities. It aims to raise awareness of the continuing severe violations of their human rights, so that they can move from exclusion and poverty towards a future of dignity, equal opportunities and non-discrimination alongside their fellow citizens. The report examines the current situation in three regions of Somalia – Somaliland, Puntland and south-central Somalia – where differing political climates have left minorities in a state of desperation. Severe human rights violations against internally displaced minorities, particularly women, were reported to MRG’s researchers in Puntland. Accounts of hate speech, displacement and religious persecution, particularly of Christians, emerged in the violent south-central region of the country, where militant organization al-Shabaab controls much of the territory. Meanwhile, in the relatively peaceful self-declared Republic of Somaliland in north-western Somalia, minorities still face significant barriers in the political, educational and social spheres. MRG emphasizes, among other recommendations, that the future new Constitution of Somalia must recognize the country’s minorities and guarantee their right to non-discrimination; that the participation of minorities in public life should be promoted; and that special measures should be implemented to protect and promote the rights of women from minority communities. The report’s author, Martin Hill, is a specialist on Somali human rights. He has extensive experience of the Horn of Africa, having spent more than 30 years as a researcher for Amnesty International.

Why Somalia does not get the right direction

Why Somalia does not get the right direction PDF Author: Mohameddeq Ali Abdi
Publisher: BoD – Books on Demand
ISBN: 3754352180
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 214

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Book Description
Somalia's problem is complex, but the question is, can the Somalia problem be solved? And can Somalia get the right direction? This book explores profound problems that Somalia has been facing and is still facing while addressing: why Somali politicians not stand up for their country and lead their country towards the right direction; Can the Somalis harness the ideology of clannism and use it to build Somalia's nation-state; why is Al-Shabaab always getting stronger day-by-day, how can it be rooted out from Somalia and how do we integrate the reformed militias? Can Somalia form a national army that has total support from the civilians? Can the Somalis deliberate and provide homegrown solutions and implement them without being put under duress

The Mayor of Mogadishu

The Mayor of Mogadishu PDF Author: Andrew Harding
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781849049511
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 296

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Book Description
The Mayor of Mogadishu tells the story of one family's epic journey through Somalia's turmoil, from the optimism of independence to its spectacular unravelling.Mohamud 'Tarzan' Nur was born a nomad, and became an orphan, then a street brawler in the cosmopolitan port city of Mogadishu - a place famous for its cafes and open-air cinemas. When Somalia collapsed into civil war, Tarzan and his young family joined the exodus from Mogadishu, eventually spending twenty years in North London. But in 2010 Tarzan returned to the unrecognisable ruins of a city largely controlled by the Islamist militants of Al-Shabaab. For some, the new Mayor was a galvanising symbol of defiance. But others branded him a thug, mired in the corruption and clan rivalries that continue to threaten Somalia's revival.The Mayor of Mogadishu is an uplifting story of survival, and a compelling examination of what it means to lose a country and then to reclaim it.

Somalia in Pictures

Somalia in Pictures PDF Author: Janice Hamilton
Publisher: Twenty-First Century Books
ISBN: 0822565862
Category : Juvenile Nonfiction
Languages : en
Pages : 82

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Book Description
Describes the geography, climate, wildlife, natural resources, history, politics, culture, economy, and government of Somalia.

Possible Spaces of Somali Belonging

Possible Spaces of Somali Belonging PDF Author: Vivian Gerrand
Publisher: Melbourne Univ. Publishing
ISBN: 0522869300
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 228

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Book Description
What happens when Somalis migrate to countries with which they have few cultural ties? What helps Somalis to feel at home in their new Western countries of residence? Possible Spaces of Somali Belonging explores representations of Somali resettlement to understand the mechanics of contemporary belonging and the challenges faced by Western societies as they attempt to ‘integrate’ Somali migrants. How do particular representations contribute to or detract from Somali belonging? In the contexts of Australia and Italy—taken as case studies—Somalis are marginalised in different ways. With a multi-disciplinary approach, this book examines different forms of Somali representation in Australia and Italy that engender a sense of belonging and expands exclusive definitions of nationhood. Islamic Studies Series - Volume 21